SEC Men’s College Basketball Tournament Odds & Picks

Written by Jack Jones

sec-college-basketball-tournament-odds-030909 The seeds are all set for this year’s Men’s SEC Basketball tournament with the number one seeds going to LSU out of the West and Tennessee from the East. SEC tournament action tips off this Thursday, March 12th, with the finals scheduled to be played on Sunday, March 15th. Many considered 2009 to be a down year for the conference, but that shouldn’t stop this week from having an excellent slate of SEC basketball. In this article I will take a look at the 3 teams that are favored to win the tournament, plus a sleeper team that has the ability to maybe shake things up a little bit.

LSU Tigers (13-3 SEC West, 25-6 Overall)
The LSU Tigers had the best conference season out of any team on their side of the SEC, but they come into the tournament having lost their final two conference games of the season. LSU has one of the best guard-forward combos in the conference with Marcus Thorton and Tasmin Mitchell. Thorton comes into the tournament averaging over 20 points per game, while Mitchell adds 16 points per game of his own to go along with 7.3 rebounds per game. When these two are on, there aren’t many teams in the SEC that can beat them. LSU is the favorite to win the SEC tournament at +200 odds.

Tennessee Volunteers (10-6 SEC East, 19-11 Overall)
The Vols grab the top seed out of the East, edging out South Carolina by beating them twice head-to-head in regular season play. It’s been a roller coaster ride for Tennessee this year. They looked great at times, like their win over Marquette earlier in the year, but lost in key conference match ups to teams like Florida and Kentucky. They did manage to sneak out the regular season championship in the SEC East, but they will have a tough road ahead of them to get through the conference tournament.

South Carolina Gamecocks (10-6 SEC East, 21-8 Overall)
If it weren’t for two conference losses to Tennessee, the Gamecocks would have grabbed the #1 seed out of the SEC East for the tournament. As it stands they’ll be slotted as a #2 seed and will play the winner of Mississippi State vs. Georgia. South Carolina is similar to Tennessee in that they notched some impressive wins over the course of the season, but lacked the consistency to really put together a complete conference performance. The Gamecocks come into the tournament having lost 2 of their last 3 conference games, but they did notch a win in their final regular season game over Georgia.

Sleeper: Florida Gators (9-7 SEC East, 22-9 Overall)
As a third seed in the conference tournament, maybe it’s not fair to call the Gators a sleeper, but they are a team that hasn’t gotten a lot of respect throughout the year. Florida comes in a bit under the radar as they lost 3 of their last 4 conference games heading into the tournament, but they’ve beaten South Carolina, and come within a few breaks of beating both LSU and Tennessee. Given the right circumstances, the Gators could very well upset one of the favorites. Florida is at +600 to win the SEC tournament.

SEC Basketball Tournament Pick: Take the LSU Tigers +200

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